Disclosed is technology for providing guidance in a manner that facilitates travel along a guidance route when there is a road which has a carpool lane. A navigation device (100) is provided with: a current-location calculation means for calculating the current location of a moving body; a recommended route search means for searching for a recommended route to a destination; a guidance-point setting means for setting a guidance point in the recommended route; and a guidance information notification means for notifying predetermined guidance information when a moving body reaches a set guidance point. When predetermined conditions are fulfilled, the guidance-point setting means sets in a road which has a carpool lane a guidance point for notifying information for guidance from said road to a branch road, before the guidance point that would be set in a road that does not have a carpool lane.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A navigation device comprising: a current position calculation unit configured to calculate a current position of a moving object, a recommended route search unit configured to search for a recommended route to a destination, a guidance point setting unit configured to set a guidance point, at which guidance information to guide the moving object is output, on the recommended route a first distance before a point where guidance becomes necessary, and a guidance information announcing unit configured to display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information, when a moving object reaches the set guidance point, wherein, when a distance between a leaving point where the moving object should exit carpool lanes and a branching point where a road with carpool lanes branches off is shorter than a predetermined distance, the guidance point setting unit sets the guidance point to a second distance that is shorter than the first distance before the point where guidance becomes necessary.
2. The navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein, the guidance point setting unit sets the guidance point to the second distance, in the case where the number of lanes on the road provided with the carpool lane is equal to or more than a predetermined number.
3. The navigation device according to claim 1 , further comprising a traffic congestion information acquiring unit configured to acquire traffic congestion information, wherein, the guidance point setting unit sets the guidance point to the second distance in the case where traffic is congested on the road provided with the carpool lane.
4. The navigation device according to claim 1 , further comprising, an imaging unit configured to take an image of a road surface of a lane on which a moving object is traveling, and a lane determining unit configured to determine whether or not the moving object is traveling on the carpool lane, when the distance between the leaving point where the moving object should exit carpool lanes and the branching point where the road with carpool lanes branches off is shorter than the predetermined distance, the guidance point setting unit sets the guidance point to a given distance before guidance point has been set.
5. A route guidance method in a navigation device, comprising: a current position calculating step of calculating, by a calculation unit, a current position of a moving object, a recommended route searching step of searching, by a route search unit, for a recommended route to a destination, a guidance point setting step of setting, by a setting unit, a guidance point, at which guidance information to guide the moving object is output, on the recommended route a first distance before a point where guidance becomes necessary, and a guidance information announcing step of displaying on a screen or outputting from a speaker the guidance information, when a moving object reaches the set guidance point, wherein, when a distance between a leaving point where the moving object should exit carpool lanes and a branching point where a road with carpool lanes branches off is shorter than a predetermined distance, the guidance point setting step sets the guidance point to a second distance that is shorter than the first distance before the point where guidance becomes necessary.
6. A navigation device comprising: a current position calculation unit configured to calculate a current position of a moving object, a recommended route search unit configured to search for a recommended route to a destination, a guidance point setting unit configured to set a guidance point, at which guidance information to guide the moving object is output, on the recommended route a first distance before a point where guidance becomes necessary, and a guidance information announcing unit configured to display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information, when a moving object reaches the set guidance point, wherein, when a distance between a merging point where the moving object merges over a road with carpool lanes and an entering point where the moving object enters into carpool lanes is shorter than a predetermined distance, the guidance point setting unit sets the guidance point to a second distance that is shorter than the first distance before the point where guidance becomes necessary.
7. A navigation device comprising: a current position calculation unit configured to calculate a current position of a moving object, a recommended route search unit configured to search for a recommended route to a destination, a guidance point setting unit configured to set a guidance point, at which guidance information to guide the moving object is output, on the recommended route a first distance before a point where guidance becomes necessary, and a guidance information announcing unit configured to display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information, when a moving object reaches the set guidance point, wherein, when a distance between a merging point where the moving object merges over a road with carpool lanes and a branching point where a road with carpool lanes branches off is shorter than a predetermined distance, the guidance point setting unit does not display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information.
8. The navigation device according to claim 7 , wherein, the guidance point setting unit does not display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information when the distance between the merging point and the branching point is equal to or longer than the predetermined distance but shorter than a second distance, and the number of lanes on the road is equal to or more than a predetermined number.
9. The navigation device according to claim 7 , further comprising a traffic congestion information acquiring unit configured to acquire traffic congestion information, wherein, when traffic is congested on a route from the merging point to the branching point even though the distance between the merging point and the branching point is shorter than the predetermined distance, the guidance point setting unit configures a setting to display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information at the set guidance point.
10. A route guidance method in a navigation device, comprising: a current position calculating step of calculating a current position of a moving object, a recommended route searching step of searching for a recommended route to a destination, a guidance point setting step of setting a guidance point, at which guidance information to guide the moving object is output, on the recommended route a first distance before a point where guidance becomes necessary, and a guidance information announcing step of displaying on a screen or outputting from a speaker the guidance information, when a moving object reaches the set guidance point, wherein, when a distance between a merging point where the moving object merges over a road with carpool lanes and a branching point where a road with carpool lanes branches off is shorter than a predetermined distance, the guidance point setting step does not display on a screen or output from a speaker the guidance information.
11. A route guidance method in a navigation device, comprising: a current position calculating step of calculating, by a calculation unit, a current position of a moving object, a recommended route searching step of searching, by a route search unit, for a recommended route to a destination, a guidance point setting step of setting, by a setting unit, a guidance point, at which guidance information to guide the moving object is output, on the recommended route a first distance before a point where guidance becomes necessary, and a guidance information announcing step of displaying on a screen or outputting from a speaker the guidance information, when a moving object reaches the guidance point wherein, when a distance between a merging point where the moving object merges over a road with carpool lanes and an entering point where the moving object enters into carpool lanes is shorter than a predetermined distance, the set guidance point is set to a second distance that is shorter than the first distance before the point where guidance becomes necessary.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
December 27, 2010
September 9, 2014
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.